Pakistan's Shadab Khan ruled out of England series

What's the story?

In what is a major blow to the Pakistan national cricket team, spinner Shadab Khan has been ruled out of the upcoming England series owing to health issues. Leg-spinner Yasir Shah has been called up as his replacement.

Chief Selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq confirmed the development in a video statement released by the Pakistan Cricket Board earlier today.

In case you didn't know...

A couple of days ago, Pakistan announced their preliminary World Cup squad which had a few major surprises. The selection panel, headed by Inzamam, named the squad after holding a fitness camp which around 25 cricketers attended.

The panel decided to take some bold steps, axing star pacer Mohammad Amir from the World Cup squad. This, quite expectedly, led to massive backlash as fans and former cricketers expressed their displeasure with the decision.

Several questions were also raised about the inclusion of youngster Abid Ali who had reportedly failed the fitness test.

The heart of the matter

Pakistan will play England in an ODI and T20I series prior to the World Cup as preparation for the marquee event. However, they've received a setback even before the commencement of the series, with the news that wrist spinner Shadab Khan has been forced out of the tournament due to health issues.

"Wrist spinner Shadab Khan has been ruled out of the series against England after tests revealed a virus that will require treatment and rest for, at least, four weeks," tweeted Pakistan Cricket Board's official handle.

Since the selectors had only picked two spinners in the squad, they've had to turn to Yasir Shah, who has now been called up as Shadab's replacement.

What's next?

Shadab will have a major role to play for Pakistan in the World Cup and they would want him to be completely fit and firing on all cylinders once the tournament commences.